Mark Bult Design: San Francisco, CA, Established 1988
Web design and development for small and large business, e-commerce, b2b, b2c, SAAS, and community websites. User experience design and usability testing.
The weekly Thursday Top 5 lists the five most notable, interesting, funny, outrageous, cool, or simply strange things of the week. It is intended for distractionary purposes only. Do not take orally. If ingested, seek a doctor’s advice. If you like it, share it with others, or check out the long list of previous entries.
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Thursday, October 29, 2009
Thursday Top 5
Pixar Intro Parody
Stormtroopers’ 9/11
“You want another round.”
Dave Mustaine on the BBC’s “Never Mind the Buzzcocks”
Proof that the UK has way better TV game shows than we do.
As if Mustaine wasn’t enough, here’s Lemmy
“I know you’re not telling the truth...”
What do you get when you put three of the biggest names (and at least two of the biggest egos) in modern radio on the same show? A pretty fiery conversation ensued when none other than Howard Stern called in to confront FCC Chairman Michael Powell on KGO AM’s Ronn Owens show. This happened in 2004, but this week was the first time I’d ever heard a recording of it. [link goes direct to MP3]
The weekly Thursday Top 5 lists the five most notable, interesting, funny, outrageous, cool, or simply strange things of the week. It is intended for distractionary purposes only. Do not take orally. If ingested, seek a doctor’s advice. If you like it, share it with others, or check out the long list of previous entries.
“You bastard! You’ve summoned the fail whale!” Hilarious! This is for Velma (and anyone else) who doesn’t get the appeal of Twitter. [4:24 min]
Real-life Twitter lol. [1:20 min]
Stephen Colbert survives a close shave in Iraq “The Colbert Report” was broadcast live from Iraq this week, and the first show kicked off with guest Ray Odierno, Commanding General, Multi-National Force – Iraq. During the interview, President Obama dropped in via satellite and ordered General Odierno to shave Colbert’s head. [23:42 min, 3 commercials]
Food, Inc. [3:31 min]
Facebook Manners and You Lolz, this is brilliant. Mind your Facebook manners or ya might end up in the slammer. [4:14 min]
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Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Thursday Top 5+2
Last night of “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” I haven’t watched Leno for years, and he was never my favorite, as I preferred the wacky ’80s and early ’90s era of Letterman, but Leno’s not bad at all. Last week was his final night on “The Tonight Show” before Conan takes over the reins in L.A., so I decided to watch it for history’s sake. They did about ten minutes of “Jaywalking,” the man-on-the street comedy segment where he just asks simple questions of normal, everyday Americans on the streets of L.A. (assuming there is such a thing in L.A., I suppose), such as “Who was the first president of the United States?”. This segment has always struck me as funny and excrutiatingly painful at the same time, as it shows just how terribly stupid Americans are. Worse yet, on this last show Jay tells us that they don’t even have to work hard to compile the funniest/dumbest moments after each outing. They only go out for about an hour, he says, they talk to a dozen or so people, and they use nine or so. That means over half the citizens of the republic are so retarded they can’t tell you which countries border on the U.S. or name any of the Founding Fathers. Oh, cry for our future! [43:29, 5 commercials]
First night of “The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien” Meanwhile, across town at the Universal Studios lot, the finishing touches have been put on a new studio for Conan, who took over the reins from Leno the very next week. Andy Richter returns as the show announcer, Max Weinberg and the band now get to call themselves The Tonight Show Band, and Conan was in fine form for his first time hosting the legendary show that’s been around since 1954. Musical Guest was Pearl Jam. [43:31, 5 commmercials]
Schwarzenegger answers real people’s questions The member communities of CNN.com’s iReport and Digg Dialogg teamed up to interview CA Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger on May 27. In an unusual example of democracy, the Republican actor-turned-guv answers questions posed by and voted on by the Digg and iReport users. Showing a little more moxie than even the traditional press can sometimes muster, there were a few hard-charging queries, leading off with “Do you support same-sex marriage and do you think the GOP should become more gay-friendly?” Of course, there were some softies too, like “Does the term ‘Governator’ bother you?” All questions and video here [30:31 min].
BART swingers Apparently a few weeks ago somebody surreptitiously installed swings on a BART train. And thus the fun did ensue. More pics...
New Yorker cover created on an iPhone Artist Jorge Colombo painted the cover illustration using the Brushes app on his iPhone.
Beatles come to Rock Band Apparently Microsoft has been able to make inroads where Apple hasn’t, since the two remaining Beatles and the widows of the other two members joined various tech and gaming notables to announce that the Beatles are coming to Rock Band this fall. The animation sequence at the beginning is cool enough to merit watching in HD, but the rest of the long presentation isn’t probably interesting to you unless you’re into gaming. I watched the whole thing, though, and as a non-gamer I’m always impressed at the continually-improving, nearly-cinematic quality of the visuals in today’s games. In fact, if you’re really into seeing where the entertainment and social media technology is going in the next few years, there are some pretty amazing things unveiled in the last 25 minutes or so; look for Steven Spielberg’s appearance to tip you off.
“We Didn’t Start the Flame War” Warning: nsfw. Gotta hand it to the CollegeHumor folks, they nail the ridiculousness of the internets (including self-satire) in this one. [2:44 min]
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Thursday, May 21, 2009
Thursday Top 5+3
Velma and I are going on a site visit to beautiful Sequioa National Park for a few days and I thought I’d be generous and post some extra distractions for those of you stuck behind desks while we’re backpacking through the redwoods. So here are three bonus links along with your normal five. Don’t say I never gave you nuthin’.
“Barney Miller” on Hulu I loved this classic sitcom from the ’70s and ’80s, so I was pleased to see Hulu has added every episode. I’ve watched several so far, reliving my childhood with pre-adolescent glee. Plus the show had one of the all-time raddest theme songs (I can say “rad,” it was the ’80s!), and I found a free MP3 at TelevisionTunes.com. Now I just need to find all the episodes of “Taxi” somewhere online.
The Unofficial Apple Weblog’s Mac 101 series I’ve been a Mac user for almost 25 years now (*whew*) so it’s not surprising that I’ve picked up a lot of power-user tips over the years. But even I learn something new once in a while. For PC-to-Mac switchers, novices, and even old timers, the Mac 101 series on TUAW is a great way to pick up quick and easy tips that will make you more productive and save time and effort. I perused the entire series a few nights ago and there are some great shortcuts and tips that will undoubtedly leave most Mac users thinking, “Aha! That’s how you do that!”
Brute force Hubble fix saves the day — again Play-by-play description of the second time spacewalking astronauts had to resort to brute force to repair part of Hubble on this latest, and so far very successful, trip. Some other interesting play-by-play descriptions of the recent trip are available in other posts on CNET News’s Space Shot blog.
What Would Penis Do? The artist of these shorts has a new book.
“Space Oddity: Steve Lamacq Live’s guide to the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” I recently found this broadcast from BBC Radio 1 about the history of the Hitchhiker’s phenomenon, produced to introduce the 2005 movie. Features interview snippets with Douglas Adams, Simon Jones, Stephen Fry, actors from the original BBC TV series and radio shows, fans, and a bunch of people involved with the movie. Oh, and it’s hosted by the original Marvin, in character of course. It’s actually quite a good show, regardless of the movie being rather a let-down. [31:24 min, RealPlayer stream]
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Friday, November 07, 2008
“60 Minutes” follows illegal e-waste from U.S. to China
This Sunday’s “60 Minutes” episode takes us to Guiyu, China, one of the world’s most toxic cities, thanks to e-waste exported from countries like the United States. In Guiyu, pregnant women are six times more likely to result in miscarry, and seven out of ten children have overly high levels of toxic lead in their blood.
Importing e-waste is big business in developing countries, where it’s either landfilled (causing massive toxic waste dumps) or “recycled” by workers (often children) earning little to recover gold and other metals by burning the plastics off of electronic parts, exposing workers and the local environment to cancer-causing toxics.
The “60 Minutes” crew filming in China was accosted by thugs who didn’t want them filming at the e-waste site in Guiyu (see preview below, sorry about the commercials).
Some U.S. “recycling” companies are no better. The “60 Minutes” investigation learned the Colorado recycling company they caught on tape exporting CRTs illegally, and “42 other American firms just like it, were recently caught in a government sting. They all offered to break the law by selling such e-waste when solicited by a federal agent posing as a foreign importer.”
Watch the full “60 Minutes” investigation on Sunday, November 9, at 7 p.m. ET/PT, on CBS.
Posted by espd at 2:40 PM |
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Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Thursday Top 5
Flying pengiuns
Counting to 4 with Feist and Sesame Street
I’m a PC Microsoft’s fighting back against Apple’s “I’m a Mac” ads, and so far the ad campaign is pretty good.
I’m a Wii
The real hunt for Red October Author David Hagberg and former USSR Naval Chief Engineer Boris Gindin tell the true story of the events that inspired Tom Clancy’s novel. Red October’s one of my favorite thriller movies, so I’m definitely interested in reading Hagberg and Gindin’s Mutiny.
“Humboldt County” the movie At least the two writer-directors are being realistic about their movie’s chances. More about the movie at www.humboldtcountymovie.com
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Thursday, September 04, 2008
Thursday Top 5
The sinister 4 a.m. conspiracy: Uncovered!
Google Chrome Comics artist Scott McCloud helps the Google team de-tech-ify the company’s open source browser project. www.google.com/googlebooks/chrome
FuturamaMath.com Dr. Sarah J. Greenwald teaches math at NC’s Appalachian State University, and gives the couch potatoes-cum-mathletes a few things to ponder. www.FuturamaMath.com
Get Crafty! Episode 6 Scrapblog gets creative in the videos they produce to show people how their site works. The results are way funnier than the normal how-to screencast. www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5LNHmwb1fw
Posted by espd at 4:48 PM |
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Monday, August 18, 2008
Free the Airwaves
Remember on old TVs how, when you used to switch from channel 5 to 7 (for example), there might be static on channel 6? Those unused spaces on the analog broadcast spectrum are called “white spaces.”
Currently more than half of the spectrum is unused. When TV broadcasters go fully digital-spectrum next year and discontinue their analog broadcasts altogether, there will be a lot more. A coalition including Google, Microsoft, Dell, and others, is asking the U.S. government to turn over white spaces to public use (broadcast spectrum is, after all, a legally recognized public resource). It could be used for better public access to wifi, Internet telephony, and many other things.
I predict this fight will get nasty when many other companies realize they stand to lose a lot too. Expect the traditional and cellular phone companies, for example, to form a similar coalition on the other side, lobbying Congress for strict licensing and fees which would effectively lock out public access the same way licensing has kept citizens from broadcasting their own TV or radio stations.
For more information, and to sign a petition, visit Free the Airwaves.
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Thursday, August 07, 2008
Thursday Top 5
“The Streets of San Francisco” might get remade This was a great show, and it looks like CBS might remake it. The original made a star of Michael Douglas. But the best part was the theme song. Even today it still starts playing in my head whenever I drive around the hilly parts of SF. I need to burn the song to a CD and keep in it my car's player at all times.
Save Polaroid Polaroid announced early this year that the company would cease making instant film. It’s a shame that this unique and distinctive photographic medium will go the way of the dodo. But you can do something about it. www.savepolaroid.com
Ani DiFranco I've never really been much of a fan of Ani DiFranco; while I like some of her songs, and I greatly respect her socio-political views and her DIY work ethic, I just never really liked her voice much. The interview with her on “City Arts & Lectures” was worth it, though. Unfortunately, the program doesn’t make downloads or streams available of past shows, so unless you catch the show some time on a rebroadcast, I guess you're outta luck : \ www.cityarts.net
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Thursday, March 27, 2008
Thursday Top 5+1
Symptoms: Increased heart rate, fits of laughter... What if two members of the crew of the TV show "Scrubs" fell in love?
Don't try this at home Filming a slap in the face, then slowing it down to 4,000 frames per second. www.collegehumor.com
"Guardians" by George R.R. Martin Jason enthusiastically told me about this story he read a decade or two ago, and he was finally able to track it down online. It's by the fantasy and sci-fi author George R.R. Martin, and it touches on, among other things, the science of ecology. I really liked this story; it would make a good one-hour TV episode. Maybe Sci Fi Channel is listening? cerclefantastique.free.fr
Do the Test How many passes does the team in white make? www.dothetest.co.uk
Robots playing Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" "LEV the thereminbot and his newly-built pal thumpbot play "Crazy" with help from a 20-year-old MT32 synthesizer. OK, Lev's a bit out of tune, but hey, ROBOTS..." www.youtube.com/watch?v=19RJEnNUg1I
"BBS: The Documentary" Anybody remember dialing up to BBSes before the Web? I guess everybody needs a hobby: Some guy spent four years filming a documentary about BBSes. www.bbsdocumentary.com
"Planet Earth" This is a spectacular series from the BBC. I will second my friend Olya's recommendation too: Get the BBC version featuring David Atetnborough as narrator, not the Discovery Channel version featuring Sigourney Weaver. I mean, I like Sigourney and all, but she ain't no Attenborough. It's available in HD btw. www.amazon.com/Planet-Earth-Complete-BBC-DVD/dp/B000MRAAJW
The Green I wish I had cable so I could watch programming like this. In a poll ten years ago, almost 80% of Americans said they'd call themselves environmentalists. Yet most people do very little to make the environment better or raise awareness. Programming like this makes me optimistic. www.sundancechannel.com
Conan O'Brien's commencement speech to the Havard Class of 2000 Freakin' comedy genius. I miss Conan. Sometimes I wish I had TV again. » www.february-7.com
Rebel Alliance or the Empire? Vote for you favorite Star Wars stamp at USPS. » www.uspsjedimaster.com
Universcale An site that interactively lets you see the respective scales of things, from the largest known thing to the smallest known thing, and lots of things in between. » www.nikon.co.jp
"This American Life" Animated segment by Chris Ware for the new "This American Life" Showtime TV show. Makes me want Showtime. So. Damn. Much. » brightcove.com Google Earth adds hiking trails » lifehacker.com
Art inspired by the series Lost
.
Aaron
Alexis
Anne
Anya
April & Matt
Ari
Bo
Brian
Bryan
Chris
Cousin Carol
Dave & Terri
Dave H.
Debby
Drue
Fibu
Four Waters
Fwegan (aka Ynnej)
Gary
Holly
Hilary
Internet Rockstar
James & Eric
Jason
Jen
Jesse
Jessica
Joey
Kansinee
Karl
Kelly
Laura
Leah
Marc
Martin
Matt
Mike
Morgan
OkayDave
Olya
Paco
Peter
Rick
Rocky
Ryan
Stellah
Tatum 
Trent
Velma
Veronica
Whiskey Media
Yuliya
Yu-Po